Orbit Airlines
History Orbit Airlines was founded on 22 August 1956 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The Airline commenced operations with a brand new Cessna 172 Skyhawk, which was delivered on the same day the airline was founded, starting sightseeing flights from Broward County International Airport (now Ft. Lauderdale International Airport). In the 60's, the airline started to offer charter flights in the general aviation business. The flights were offered mainly from Broward County International to Tampa, Palm Beach, and Atlanta. In 1969, Orbit placed orders for 15 Boeing 707s and 12 Boeing 727s. The aircraft were delivered to the airline in January and May 1970, respectively. In 1974, Orbit offered their first scheduled flight from Ft. Lauderdale to Raleigh. The flight was flown by the Boeing 727, which wasn´t big enough for the high demand on this route. Thus, the flights were well booked and bringing a good profit to the small airline. In 1975, Orbit began operating under a codeshare agreement with Atlantis Airways and, in 1976, began operating regular routes between Florida and the Bahamas, using Orbit's newly introduced fleet of Boeing 727s and Atlantis' fleet of Douglas DC-9s. On 16 October 1975, Orbit received its first Boeing 737-200, which was stationed at Miami Airport. From this day on, the airline was starting to get a big player on the international airline market. In 1976, the airline moved its headquarters to Tampa. Because the airline wanted to build up a network of holiday flights from there, two Boeing 737-200s were flown to destinations like Newark, Detroit, and St. Louis. Orbit Airlines also offered feeder services to St. Louis. On 19 November 1976, Atlantis Airways filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy. In January 1977, Orbit decided to acquire Atlantis and their fleet of 21 Douglas DC-9s. The airline completed the merger in November 1977. In 1979, the airline began operating flights to the Western and Southwestern United States. For this, the airline placed orders for new widebody aircraft. Orders for 14 Boeing 747-100s, 17 Boeing 747-200s, and 20 McDonnell Douglas DC-10s were placed. In May 1981, Orbit received its first 4 DC-10s, all stationed at Miami. The next month, the airline began operating DC-10 flights from Miami to destinations such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Dallas. In March 1984, Orbit founded its regional subsidiary Orbit Connection. In November 1984, Orbit Connection began feeder services from Ft. Lauderdale to Atlanta and Palm Beach to Raleigh, operated by the deHavilland Dash 8-100, these aircraft then were accompanied by deHavilland Dash 8 300, saab 340s and embraer 120, these aircraft allowed for more destinations, such as key west, Tallahassee and Jacksonville. With the advancements on the carrier, it was then re-branded as Orbit Regional Link. In 1986, Orbit received its first Boeing 757, which operated regular daily routes from the East coast to destinations in the Western US such as Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, and Seattle. Also Orbit got the brand new 767 200, in wich Orbit opened routes between East Coast to West Coast and from Miami to South America. On 09 May 1987, Orbit Airlines formed a codeshare agreement with low-cost Canadian carrier Contact Airways. The airlines then started low-cost seasonal flights from Boston and New York LaGuardia to Canadian destinations such as Halifax, Toronto, and Vancouver, which were operated using Orbits fleet of Dash 8-100s, Saab 340s, and embraer 120, and Contact's fleet of Boeing 737-300s. In 1989, Orbit decided to start operating internationally. Thus, the airline placed orders for 27 Boeing 747-400s and 19 McDonnell Douglas MD-11s, the first of which were received in 1991 and 1992, respectively. With these aircraft, Orbit airlines was decided to open new hubs, so they got some slots in NewYork LaGuardia, New Jork JFK, Seattle, Portland and Los ángeles. Then after the opening of these hubs, Orbit airlines got more, these were: Miami international airport, Houston Intercontinental airport and San Francisco international airport. In December of 1989 Orbit got its first 767 300, with the new aircraft the airline started trans atlantic flights and West Coast - Hawaii flights marking the introduction of Hawaii in Orbit airlines. Since the LAX-HNL route was so succesfull Orbit airlines in 1995 placed orders for the 777 200, the first of wich arrived directly in from Seattle to LAX and started flying to Honolulu. Then Papeete was introduced, Orbit airlines started flying between LAX and Papeete with Orbits new fleet of 767 and 777. In 1990, Orbit Airlines began a major fleet overhaul. In April, the airline began phasing out its aging fleet of 56 Boeing 737-200s and replacing them with the larger and more modern Boeing 737-400. Orbit also began retiring its fleet of 747-100s and 747-200s, which were being replaced with the more advanced 747-400. In 1992, Orbit regained control of it's financial crisis and where able to buy more 747-400s and later that year, they began for real to operate the long-haul flights for Orbit. In 1992, Orbit began flying its new 747-400 and MD-11 aircraft on transcontinental routes between the US, Europe, Asia, and Oceania, with flights to London, Frankfurt, Paris, Tokyo, Sydney, and Melbourne, via Miami, New York JFK, Houston, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Seattle. In 1994, the airline received 13 Airbus A320s for operating routes between the US, Canada, Mexico, and various other US territories. In 1995, the airline's last 747-200 was converted to a freighter aircraft and sold to Quantum Air Cargo. By then, Orbit had 17 747-400s operating medium to long haul and transcontinental routes to and from the US. In 1997, the last Boeing 737-200 was sold to an airline from Mallorca (Spain) and Orbit Airline meanwhile had a fleet of 86 Boeing 737-400, which were all purchased new. Orbit airlines started a U.S Hub domination, in wich orbit airlines opened a hub on all the possible airports, these included Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Jacksonville, Boston, Providence an a lot more, this was caused beacause Orbit Airlines believes on the Point to Point model. But for that Orbit Airlines got short on fleet, so they started to buy new regional airliners, so that for example, the Pittsburgh - Chicago route would be served with a Q400, so that it didn´t need a super big 737 In February 2000, Orbit Regional Link placed orders for the ATR 72, Bombardier CRJ700 and Q400 regional airliners. Deliveries of these aircraft were completed in 2002. Finally in 2001, Contact Airways filed for bankruptcy and merged with Orbit. It was decided to keep Orbit Airlines as the name for the new airline. All of Contact's aircraft were transferred to the Orbit Connection fleet and, thus, repainted from the blue, green, and white paint of Contact Airways into the red and white livery of Orbit Airlines. In 2003, Orbit decided to update their 23-year-old livery. In September, the airline introduced their new "Friendly Skies" livery, which consisted of a white upper half of the fuselage and a orange bottom half with a orange and blue tail and engines with a white heart on the tail. Also in 2003, Orbit Airlines placed orders for the Airbus A321 and Boeing 737-700 to replace their aging fleet of Boeing 737-400s. Also in 2003 Orbit introduced the plan "Westly innovative", in wich the airline got more space in Western hubs, such as San Diego, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Anchorage, they started atlantic and pacific flights from these hubs, people congratulated Orbit on this plan, it may´ve been tho most succesfull plan in Orbits History, since now people traveling between San Diego and London didn´t have to connect through Los Angeles or San Francisco. In summer 2005, the first A321 was delivered to Orbit's largest US hub in Miami. The new aircraft also debuted the airline's new "Friendly Skies" livery, which is still in use today. In 2006, the Boeing 737-800 was introduced. The new fleet began operating routes within the continental United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Also in May of 2008 the first 767 400 was given to Orbit Airlines, and started operating flights between Miami and Sao Paulo. In 2009, the airline moved to its headquarters back to Ft. Lauderdale, moving nearest to Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Miami international airport. In november of 2009 Orbit started thinking of International Hubs, so they talked to the British Government and they got slots in London Heathrow Airport and in London Gatwick. Then they got slots in Amsterdam and in Paris Charles de Gaulle. After Europe they opened a Hub in Tokyo. After that they tried to get all the regional traffic to regional airports, that meant that they got a space in London City Airport, they got LaGuardia airport as a total hub, they opened some slots in Washington Ronald Reagan and in Rio Santos Dumont. In 2011, Orbit placed orders for the recently introduced Boeing 747-8I. The first 5 aircraft were delivered directly from Seattle to Miami in spring 2014, with 10 more aircraft still on order. In 2013 all MD-11 aircraft were sold to Global airlines. In summer 2015, Orbit placed orders for the Bombardier CS100 and CS300, deliveries of which are expected to begin in October 2017 and March 2018, respectively. In autumn 2016, Orbit acquired Infinite Airlines's stake. It made the airlines received all fleets from Infinite Airlines which consist of 5 Boeing 747-8I, 12 Boeing 777-200ER, 2 and 8 remain orders of Boeing 787, 37 Boeing 737-700 (including 2 BBJ aircraft), 15 Bombardier Dash 8, 2 Airbus A318 ACJ, 2 Cessna Citation X, and 5 Cirrus Sr-22 In November of 2016 Orbit introduced the plan "Renovate", in wich the airline did an analysis of its fleet and routes and started to order new aircraft, this included an order for all of the A320NEO Family, Boeing 787 Family, Airbus A350 1000, Boeing 737MAX family, Bombardier C Series, and then on early 2017 the airbus A330NEO family. This plan also saw the retiring of some planes, wich were old an were set to be replaced, the early retiring saw the Airbus A340 600, and the plan for some retiring aircraft, such as the MD 80 family, A340 300, Boeing 717, Boeing 757 and Boeing 767. Also on the "Renovate" Plan, the whole Orbit fleet saw a cabin retrofit, with all the possible aircraft now having IFE, new legroom, new seating plan, and other details that made customers happy, such as a 2 part Tray table, a Cup holder, installing personal USB ports and personal Universal power outlets. Also the service was refreshed, with new catering services, and established snacks on all the short haul flights, and meals on 2+ Hours flights. with refreshed cabins and seats, mood lightning was installed on all the possible planes, and new lavatories. "Renovate" also had plans for Business and first class seats, now on the Transcontinental 757s and Transcontinentals A321s, there will be 8 First class seats, arranged on a 1-1 Configuration, 22 Business class seats arranged on a 2-2 Configuration, and the new economy product on the back of the plane. Also new Set up bars were installed. The Longhaul fleet saw a complete renovation on the First Class, all of the 1 decker aircraft equipped with First Class such as the A340 300, A350 1000, 777 300er and the Boieng 787 10, now held the new First Class seats arranged on a 1-1-1 configuration, the services are demonstrated on the Services Page. All of the 2 Decker Jumbo jets, the 747 400 and 747 800I, Got the New First Class seats on the upper deck, on a 1-1-1 in the Front and 1-1 at the back of the Upper deck, the A380 at the upper deck, held the First Class seats on a 1-1-1 Configuration. "Renovation" At Business class was significant, as the new configuration on all of the Longhaul fleet was set in a 1-2-1 Configuration, the specifications are on the Service Page. Also in "Renovate" the Hubs saw an intense renovation, this included the Business class lounge, wich was ampliated and refreshed, offering some of the best experiences in the world. More Buffets, more computers, free wifi, and restaurants. Also the implement of new hubs was thinked, and eventually, slots were offered at the new Orbit Airlines Hubs, you´ll find them on the Hubs page. "Renovate" plan also held all of the Regional service offered by Orbit Regional link, so the old planes were retired and some are being retired, such as the Embraer 120 Brasilia, Dash 8 Q100, Embraer ERJ135, and Saab 340, being replaced by newer ATR 72 and ATR 42, also the CRJ Family, Dash 8 Q400, E-175, and E-195. In 2017, the Boeing 787-9 was introduced at Miami International Airport. Orbit is currently flying its new 787-9 fleet on routes to Europe and South America. And the airline also introduced Airbus A380 in December 2017. A380 will serve high-density routes, like London, Paris, and Dubai. On the 25th of May 2018, Orbit announced it had cancelled the ATR orders and plant to order to more Q400's and new EMB 120's & ERJ 175 to replace the older fleet of Saab 340 and CRJ 200. This was announced after a disagreement with the French aircraft manufacturer. Also replacing the old CRJ´s 200 is the new ERJ 175, which Orbit Airlines has orders for. Along with the ATR cancellation is the E-195 Orders, which Orbit will give back to Embraer and the gap for this Airliner is the new Embraer E2, this is because Orbit airlines is searching for a Super renovated plane, all the E-195 routes will be replaced by the E2 Today the airline is the most popular airline in terms of domestic services, and the second-most popular airline for international services behind World Travel Airways Super-Sonic Market Aerospatiale Concorde Orbit Airlines had plans to acquire the so famous Concorde, but with the fuel costs, noise and Low Demand, project Sonic-stake was canceled and the 20 orders were cancelled Convair 990 Coronado The Convair 990 Coronado was a different kind of aircraft and with all the 707, and DC-8´s that Orbit had, the 990 was a great option for Orbit, because they had plans of using it on Transcontinental routes, and once they were done with a huge delay, Orbit used these for 15 years for West Coast - Hawaii flights, East Coast - Europe flights and West Coast - East Coast. Service Orbit Airlines improved its service in the past years, with better catering services and newer and fresher cabins. First the already talked about "Renovation" plan included most of the improvements in service. First Orbit retired older aircraft, and ordered new ones. The cabin refreshment included a complete new seat, a 2 part tray table, a cup holder, personal USB ports,, personal Universal power outlets, IFE, literature pocket, Seat back pocket, headrest and a coathook. the cabin also got mood lightning, new lavatories, new galley, and privacy dividers between every single class. Long Haul Aircraft First Class First Class had been converted into a little room, 1-1-1 configuration allows for direct aisle access, the room include a big screen, a bed, a large tray table, a large amenity kit, a writing kit, a beauty kit, a lamp, BOSE headphones that each passenger keeps, a seat to seat phone and chat, your personalized closet and on the A380 and 747 you have access to a shower, and much more amenities. The lounge is huge and you can do lots of activities there, from sleeping in your own room, take a shower or just eat at the restaurant. Once you settle in via priority Boarding, the flight attendants call you by your name, offer you a very variated choice of pre departure drinks, and introduce you the plane, then, the flight attendants get you your pajamas and offer you a pre departure snack. After takeoff you get our 5 Star Menu for your choice, if the flight is more than 5 hours, there will be 3 eating services, the menu will be offering 4 choices at each state, appetizer, Entreé, Main Course, and desert. then the 2nd service will be lighter and the 3rd service is of choice, this means that you can choose if you will eat the 3rd service or not. There will be tea services and hot towels during the flight, throughout the flight flight attendants will be offering you drinks and will be making sure you are satisfied. Business Class In Business class you also have access to the Lounge, you will also board via priority boarding, once you settle in your seat the flight attensants will call you by your name and introduce themsalves, they will offer you a pre departure drink and will offer you the amenity kit and a pre departure snack, the seat includes a flat bed, a Screen, direct aisle access, a suit door that you can open or close, your own closet, and lots of storage room. After takeoff, you´ll have the same 5 star menu and the same service as in first class. Premium Economy Premium economy is arranged in a 2-3-2 Configuration, you have access to a little lounge-bar. You´ll settle in and find a screen, a little privacy divider, and lots of other amenities, an amenity kit will be offered to you and you´ll be also offered a pre departure drink. After takeoff you´ll be offered 2 meals throughout the flight, also hot towel services and tea services, a little menu is offered to each passenger and you can pick up from 4 different options, after arrival you have also access to the lounge Economy Economy is arranged in a 3-3-3 configuration or a 3-4-3 configuration depending on wich aircraft you are flying, you´ll settle in and the flight attendant will give you a hot towel, a little amenity kit, and some orange juice or water, after takeoff you´ll have access to 2 catering services throughout the flight, and you´ll be offered a little menu in wich you can choose the meal option. Several hot towels will be offered and drinks throughout the flight. Short Haul Aircraft Business class Business class is arranged in a 2-2 configuration, you have access to the lounge, and you enter the aircraft via priority boarding, there´s a little privacy divider, a screen, a footrest, an amenity kit, and much more amenities, once settled in the flight attendant will call you by your name and will offer you a pre departure drink and a pre depature snack, also they will be offering BOSE Headphones that you can keep. After departure you will have a snack on -2 hour flights and a meal on 2+ Hour flights. Once you arrive you have access to the lounge. Premium Economy Premium Economy is offered in a 3-3 configuration, you have access to the lounge, once you settle in the flight attendant will offer you a pre departure snack and a pre departure beverage. Once airborne you´ll have a snack on -2 hour Flights and a meal on +2 Hour flights, hot towels and drink services will be offered throughout the flight. Once you arrive you have access to the lounge. Economy Economy is arranged in a 3-3 Configuration, once you settle in the flight attendant will pass out giving out headphones wich you can keep by a small charge of 2 dollars. Once airborne you´ll have a snack on -2 hour flights, and 2 meal services on +2 Hour flights. 'Basic Economy ' Same as economy but you board in the last group and you only have 2 guaranteed checked bags. Other then that you will still get a standard seat and a snack on most flights. ' ' Destinations (Hubs) Sacramento (SMF Airwave Headquarters) Ft. Lauderdale (FLL, Headquarters) Miami (MIA, Main Hub in USA) New York JFK (JFK, LGA) Rio De Janeiro (GIG, Main Hub in South America) Seattle Tacoma (SEA) Las Vegas (LAS) Tokyo Narita (NRT, Main Hub in Asia) Los Angeles (LAX) London Heathrow (LHR, Main Hub in Europe) Denver (DEN) Dallas (DFW) Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) Baltimore (BWI) Philadelphia (PHL) Boston (BOS) Chicago (ORD) San Francisco (SFO) Honolulu (HNL) Islamabad (ISB) Paris (CDG) Rome (FCO) Frankfurt (FRA) Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD,main hub in Oceania) Guayaquil (SEGU) Fleet Orbit Airlines' fleet concept is interesting and remarkable. They want to have a fleet of short-age planes, meaning that all 20+ year old aircraft will be retired. Since Orbit also wants super efficient aircraft, all the Boeing 737 non MAX will be retrofitted with split scimitar winglets. The 757's and 767's are being retrofitted with tall winglets and all the A320 family non NEO aircraft are being retrofitted with sharklets. The Dash 8s will also be retrofitted with new wings and the Embraers will get new "Spatula" winglets. As of 20 November 2018, Orbit Airlines has at least a total of: * 880 mainstream aircraft * 557 regional aircraft * and 62 cargo freighters Mainstream Aircraft Regional Aircraft Cargo Freighters = ''Former Aircraft'' Airbus A300 Airbus A310 Airbus A340-300 ATR 42 ATR 72 Avro RJ70 Avro RJ85 Avro RJ100 Bae ATP Boeing 707 Boeing 727-200 Boeing 737-200 Boeing 737-300 Boeing 737-500 Boeing 737-600 Boeing 747SP Boeing 747-100 Boeing 747-200 Boeing 747-300 Boeing 767-200 Convair 880 Convair 990 Coronado Douglas DC-8 Dash 8 Q100 Dash 8 Q200 Dash 8 Q300 Embraer 120 Jetstream 32 Jetstream 41 McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 McDonnell Douglas MD-11(sold to global airlines) Saab 340 Saab 2000 New Orbit airlines routes New York - Córdoba Boeing 787-8 Sydney - Buenos Aires Boeing 787-8 Spokane - New York Airbus a320 Portland - Tokyo Boeing 787-8 Dallas - Lihue Boeing 787-8 New York - Cartagena - Pereira Airbus A319 Minneapolis - Fargo Embraer ERJ145 Minneapolis - Amsterdam Boeing 777-200 Chicago - Osaka Boeing 787-8 Atlanta - Osaka Boeing 787-8 London - Bermuda Boeing 767-300er Tampa - Key West Dash 8 Q400 Veracruz - Dallas Dash 8 Q400 Seattle - Cancún Boeing 737-800 Portland - Cancún Boeing 737-700 Spokane - Cancún Boeing 737-700 Portland - Victoria Dash 8 Q400 San Francisco - Victoria Dash 8 Q400 Los Angeles - Victoria Embraer 175 Los Angeles - Juneau Boeing 737-700 Tokyo - Perth Boeing 787-8, 747-8 New York - Saint John - Nuuk Bombardier CRJ200 (Will soon be replaced by the Embraer ERJ 175-E2) Washington - Halifax Embraer 175 Seattle - Fargo CRJ700 Salt Lake City - Tokyo Boeing 787-8 Detroit - Paris Airbus A350-1000 New York - Islamabad B777-200 Sydney - Auckland Airbus A350-1000 Amsterdam - Vagar Airbus A319 (If demand is low it´ll be replaced by CRJ900 or CRJ700) San Francisco - Honolulu (Business service) Airbus A318 London - Bern Embraer 175 Amsterdam - Bern Dash 8 Q400 Barcelona - Detroit Boeing 787-8 Accidents and Incidents Category:Europa __FORCETOC__ Category:Airliners